Is a tamilian an Indian?

Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. Although they are all termed as Tamils today, some have Telugu and Malayalee origins as well as diverse South Indian caste origins.

What’s the difference between Tamil and Indian?

Both Tamil and Hindi are Indian languages spoken by the Hindu people. Both languages came from different language families. Hindi came from the Indo-European linguistic family while Tamil is a descendant of the Dravidian languages. Hindi is written in the Devanagari script while Tamil uses its own distinctive script.

What is the difference between Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil?

The Sri Lankan Tamils (or Ceylon Tamils) are descendants of the Tamils of the old Jaffna Kingdom and east coast chieftaincies called Vannimais. The Indian Tamils (or Hill Country Tamils) are descendants of bonded laborers who migrated from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in the 19th century to work on tea plantations.

What is it like to be a Telugu in Tamil Nadu?

When I landed in Tamil Nadu, Auto wala’s, Shop keepers, house owners, almost everybody, they spoke some or other form of Telugu to comfort me and I have also seen them doing the same to many other Telugu people. Telugu people are widely accepted in Tamil Nadu – and are not considered as outsiders.

What is it like to be a Tamilian with Telugu friends?

Tamil and Telugu is one of the best combo of friends one can even have. This is from my personal experience. Me being a proper Tamilian from Chennai, Starting from my kinder garden days to my days post wedding in an entirely different country my close friends have always been Telugu people.

When did the Tamils become a distinct ethnic group?

There were trade relationship between the Roman Empire and Pandyan Empire. As recorded by Strabo, Emperor Augustus of Rome received at Antioch an ambassador from a king called Pandyan of Dramira. Hence, it is clear that by at least 300 BCE, the ethnic identity of Tamils was formed as a distinct group.